Ultra wideband data transmission system and method

ABSTRACT

A data-modulated ultra wideband transmitter that modulates the phase, frequency, bandwidth, amplitude and/or attenuation of ultra-wideband (UWB) pulses. The transmitter confines or band-limits UWB signals within spectral limits for use in communication, positioning, and/or radar applications. One embodiment comprises a low-level UWB source (e.g., an impulse generator or time-gated oscillator (fixed or voltage-controlled)), a waveform adapter (e.g., digital or analog filter, pulse shaper, and/or voltage variable attenuator), a power amplifier, and an antenna to radiate a band-limited and/or modulated UWB or wideband signals. In a special case where the oscillator has zero frequency and outputs a DC bias, a low-level impulse generator impulse-excites a bandpass filter to produce an UWB signal having an adjustable center frequency and desired bandwidth based on a characteristic of the filter. In another embodiment, a low-level impulse signal is approximated by a time-gated continuous-wave oscillator to produce an extremely wide bandwidth pulse with deterministic center frequency and bandwidth characteristics. The UWB signal may be modulated to carry multi-megabit per second digital data, or may be used in object detection or for ranging applications. Activation of the power amplifier may be time-gated in cadence with the UWB source thereby to reduce inter-pulse power consumption. The UWB transmitter is capable of extremely high pulse repetition frequencies (PRFs) and data rates in the hundreds of megabits per second or more, frequency agility on a pulse-to-pulse basis allowing frequency hopping if desired, and extensibility from below HF to millimeter wave frequencies.

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/857,836,filed May 16, 1997 U.S. Pat. No. 6,026,125.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to the field of ultra-wideband communicationsystems. More particularly, it relates to the controlled transmission ofultra-wideband electromagnetic pulses.

2. Background of Related Art

Ultra-wideband (UWB) systems, both for radar and communicationsapplications, have historically utilized impulse, or shock-excited,transmitter techniques in which an ultra-short duration pulse (typicallytens of picoseconds to a few nanoseconds in duration) is directlyapplied to an antenna which then radiates its characteristic impulseresponse. For this reason, UWB systems have often been referred to as“impulse” radar or communications. In addition, since the excitationpulse is not a modulated or filtered waveform, such systems have alsobeen termed “carrier-free” in that no apparent carrier frequency isevident from the resulting RF spectrum.

To be useful for data communications, previous UWB impulse orcarrier-free transmission systems have been limited to ON-OFF keying(binary amplitude shift keying ASK) or pulse position modulation (PPM)since amplitude and/or phase control of the waveform was extremelydifficult or impossible to implement. In addition, these previoussystems have been fixed bandwidth and fixed frequency with no capabilityfor frequency hopping or dynamic bandwidth control.

Output power and pulse repetition frequency (PRF) of UWB impulsetransmitters have also been limited due to fundamental physicallimitations of the devices used to generate the ultra-short durationpulses. In particular, high output power and high PRF were mutuallyexclusive properties of such systems. High output power impulseexcitation sources such as bulk avalanche semiconductors, high voltagebreakover devices, high voltage Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) thyristors,plasma diodes, stacked arrays of step recovery diodes (SRDs), etc.required hundreds to many thousands of volts for proper operation and,consequently, were limited to PRFs below a few tens of kilohertz due toincreased device heating and thermal breakdown at higher PRFs. Lowerpower devices, such as avalanche transistors, low voltage SRDs, Zenerdiodes, etc., can operate at PRFs of several megahertz, but producedoutput powers many orders of magnitude lower. In addition, while theindividual devices were typically low cost, they often needed to behand-selected in order to guarantee avalanche or breakdowncharacteristics at a particular operating voltage level.

As an example, early versions of UWB impulse transmitters typicallygenerated less than one watt peak microwave output power at a maximumPRF of approximately 10 kHz using baseband impulse excitation powers oftens to several thousand watts. Several laboratory models using thesehigh voltage sources were constructed for radar applications whichincluded ship docking, pre-collision sensing for automobiles, liquidlevel sensing, and intrusion detection. Although these techniques provedto be reliable, the power efficiency, PRF limitations, size andcomplicated antenna assemblies limited performance and reproducibility.

Another significant limitation of such impulse-based UWB sources is thefact that the power level decreases with increasing frequency at a rateof approximately 12 dB per octave. This is due to the double exponentialnature of the impulse excitation. The output response from a typicalimpulse source has the form:${p(t)} = {\frac{t}{\alpha}^{({1 - \quad \frac{t}{\alpha}})}{u_{- 1}(t)}}$

where α is the pulse rise time and u⁻¹(t) is the unit step function.FIG. 10 shows the output response p(t) versus time. This waveformclosely approximates the output seen from the vast majority of impulsesources.

One can now compute the instantaneous pulse power versus frequency(magnitude-squared Fourier transform) as:${P(f)} = {\frac{^{2}}{16\quad \pi^{4}}\quad \frac{1}{\alpha^{2}f^{4}}}$

Note that if the rise time is doubled, the power at any given frequencydecreases by 6 dB. Similarly, for a constant peak voltage source,doubling the frequency of operation decreases the output power by 12 dB.

As an example, a 2.5 kW peak power output thyristor-based impulsegenerator develops only about 1 watt peak power at L-Band (1.5 GHzrange) since the vast majority of the impulse energy is produced atsignificantly lower frequencies. This unused energy is dissipated asheat, subjecting operating circuits to overheating and damage, andlimiting the PRF or data rate at which the source can operate reliably.The upper trace in FIG. 11 shows the rapid drop in available powerversus frequency from a conventional thyristor-based impulse source.

Another limitation in the use of such techniques is the lack of accuratecontrol of radiated emissions to meet regulatory requirements. Since ashort pulse excitation will stimulate the impulse response of anantenna, and a typical wideband antenna has a frequency responseextending over many octaves in frequency (an octave of frequency being adoubling of frequency), the radiated spectrum will be extremelybroadband, covering hundreds of megahertz (MHz) to several gigahertz(GHz) or more of instantaneous bandwidth. This broad spectrum mayoverlap many frequencies of operation licensed otherwise by the U.S.Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the U.S. or by other means inforeign countries, thus presenting a concern to operators or users ofallocated frequencies, albeit at very low average power levels.

Thus, conventional UWB signal generation techniques suffer from severalshortcomings:

(i) high power operation can only be achieved at reduced PRFs because ofdevice heating;

(ii) practical operational frequencies are limited to well below 5 GHzdue to the 12 dB per octave falloff of output impulse energy withincreased frequency;

(iii) impulse excitation of an antenna results in a “carrier-free”signal which would uncontrollably overlap frequencies restricted fromsuch use, albeit with low energy densities; and

(iv) modulation techniques are limited to on-off keying and pulseposition modulation, with no capability for frequency hopping or fordynamic bandwidth control.

There is a need to achieve a higher output power for long distancecommunications and for small target detection in the case of a radarsystem, to develop high PRFs for the transmission of wideband video anddata, to produce UWB transmissions at well-controlled center frequenciesand bandwidths extending to higher operating frequencies (e.g.,millimeter wave), and to allow for newer and more efficient modulationtechniques.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a breakthrough in UWB communications inthat it generates a waveform adaptive or carrier-controlled UWB signalhaving a controlled center frequency and an adjustable bandwidth. Theseadjustments can be performed on a pulse-by-pulse basis, allowing for UWBfrequency hopping and adaptive bandwidth control.

One preferred embodiment distinctively utilizes a low-levelimpulse-gated oscillator to produce an extremely wide bandwidth pulsewhich can operate at extremely high pulse repetition frequencies (FIG.1). Precise control of radiated frequency is governed by the choice ofoscillator which has a known stable frequency. The oscillator can befixed frequency or a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), the latter inparticular for UWB frequency hopping applications. Oscillator phase mayalso be controlled to generate an additional phase modulation. Withsuitable choice of oscillator and mixer, UWB signals can be generatedwith center frequencies from near DC to millimeter wave frequencies.Signal bandwidth is governed by a bandpass or pulse shaping filterwhich, when used to drive a wideband mixer, controls the spectralcharacteristics of the output waveform. An output bandpass filterfurther limits out of band energy; and a gated power amplifier is usedto amplify the UWB signal to the desired peak power output level.

Another embodiment distinctively utilizes a low-level impulse generatorand bandpass or pulse shaping filter without need for a separateoscillator and mixer (FIG. 2). This embodiment is particularly usefulfor non-agile operation at frequencies below 5 GHz for which sufficientimpulse energy can be generated to drive an additional gated poweramplifier. This approach is mathematically equivalent to that of FIG. 1when the oscillator frequency is chosen to be precisely zero. In thiscase, UWB signal center frequency and bandwidth are directly determinedby the characteristics of the bandpass or pulse shaping filter.

Another variant of the impulse-gated oscillator is derived through theuse of analog or digital time-gating (FIG. 3). In this embodiment, thelow-level impulse excitation is approximated by the response of a set ofhigh-speed switches (FIG. 4). These switches gate the oscillator outputON for a very short time period (FIG. 5). Such time-gating may also beachieved through the use of analog or digital pulse shaping circuitry(FIG. 6).

VCOs in the L-band (1.5 GHz) and in the X-band (10 GHz) region wereimplemented in exemplary embodiments of the present invention, althoughit is equally possible that oscillators of other types and of otherfrequencies can be used. Unlike conventional impulse or “carrier-free”techniques, one aspect of the present invention provides an UWB signalhaving a well-defined, controllable carrier frequency and bandwidth withthe additional capability for independent phase and amplitudemodulation.

Each of these UWB transmitters can operate at extremely high data rates,enabling the transmission of high speed data such as real-time digitizedvideo, multiple simultaneous digital voice channels, or otherinformation, as well as the transmission of high PRF pulse trains forradar or ranging applications.

To achieve high power output from any of these UWB sources, a gatedpower amplifier is used (FIG. 8). The gated power amplifier has theunique feature of high power efficiency as the power amplifier is onlyturned on for approximately the duration of the UWB pulse.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a frequency andbandwidth adaptive UWB transmitter.

It is a further object to provide an UWB transmitter having controllablespectral features superior to those provided by conventional impulse and“shock-excited” UWB signal generating transmitters.

It is a further object to provide an UWB transmitter system thatobviates pulse repetition frequency (PRF) limitations of conventionalsystems, thus allowing extremely high data rates on the order ofhundreds of megabits per second.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an UWBtransmitter having frequency extensibility to millimeter wavefrequencies by suitable selection of an RF carrier and impulse- ortime-gating characteristics.

It is an additional object to provide an UWB transmitter having digitalamplitude and/or phase control to permit the generation of M-arycommunications waveforms such as ultra-wideband quadrature amplitudemodulation (QAM), quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), etc.

It is a further object to provide an UWB transmitter having frequencyagility (e.g., frequency hopping) through direct digital control (DDC)of the RF oscillator center frequency.

It is another object to provide an UWB transmitter having pulse widthagility, and thus bandwidth agility, through the use of direct digitalcontrol of the time-gating circuitry parameters.

It is also an object to provide an UWB transmitter having 50 Ω impedancematching for ease of fabrication into stripline or microstrip hybrid ormulti-chip module (MCM) circuits.

It is another object to provide an UWB transmitter permitting the use ofwideband Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit (MMIC) power amplifiersto deliver an efficient, significant and accurately controllable amountof transmitter power to an antenna.

It is yet another object to provide an UWB transmitter with a gatedpower amplifier that achieves high power efficiency because it drawsminimal current except during a brief period of time in which the UWBpulse is being generated. Because of the extremely low duty cycle of anUWB waveform, even at high PRFs, the gated power amplifier is importantto the UWB transmitter in designs requiring low power consumption suchas battery-operated handheld radios, unattended sensors, etc.

These and other objects of the invention will become more readilyapparent upon review of the following description. The invention,though, is pointed out with particularity by the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be described with reference to the drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention in which an UWBtransmitter utilizes an impulse-gated oscillator.

FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of an UWB transmitter of the presentinvention in which a low-level impulse generator directly excites abandpass or pulse shaping filter, without the use of an oscillator ormixer, prior to gated power amplification. This circuit is equivalent tothat of FIG. 1 with a zero frequency oscillator (i.e., DC bias on themixer).

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of another embodiment of the present inventionshowing an UWB transmitter utilizing time gating circuitry whichapproximates the response of a low-level impulse.

FIG. 4 shows a first embodiment of a time gating circuit using a set ofhigh-speed switches to gate the output from an oscillator.

FIG. 5 depicts the response of switches S1 and S2 in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 shows an embodiment of a time-gated UWB transmitter using digitalpulse shaping.

FIGS. 7A and 7B show an X-band UWB signal generated by the time-gatedUWB transmitter shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 8 shows an embodiment of an impulse-gated UWB transmitter utilizingboth a microwave oscillator and a low-level impulse generator.

FIG. 9 shows a timing diagram for the circuit shown in FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 shows a normalized plot of UWB signal pulse amplitude of aconventional impulse source versus time.

FIG. 11 shows the power spectrum of an impulse UWB signal, superimposedwith a filter signal in the L-band, for explaining the small amount ofpower of an impulse signal in the L-band.

FIG. 12A shows an actual transmitted UWB signal generated by an UWBtransmitter using a low-level impulse generator and a microwave bandpassfilter, generating an L-band UWB signal at a center frequency of 1.5 GHzwith a 3 dB down bandwidth of 400 MHz.

FIG. 12B shows the frequency spectrum of the UWB signal shown in FIG.12A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

Without limitation of the invention, two classes of UWB transmitterswhich generate UWB signals having controllable spectral characteristicsaccording to the present invention will be described. The first class ofUWB transmitters include an impulse-gated oscillator (and the specialcase in which the oscillator frequency is precisely zero), and thesecond class includes a time-gated oscillator in which time-gatingcircuitry approximates the response of a low-level impulse.

Microwave components of the present invention may be built to operateinto 50 ohms to obtain maximum power transfer, to make use of readilyavailable radio frequency (RF) components, and to provide a readilymanufacturable design using conventional microstrip or striplinecircuitry.

Class I: Impulse-gated Oscillator (IGO) UWB Transmitters

FIG. 1 shows an UWB transmitter in which a low-level impulse is used togate an oscillator to produce an UWB output.

Low-level impulse generator 100 excites an optional bandpass or pulseshaping filter 102 with a low-level impulse. Low-level impulse generator100 can comprise any number of possible devices, including low voltageSRDs, Zener diodes, avalanche transistors, break over devices (BODs),thyristors, etc. One particular embodiment utilized an SRD, part no.MA44768-287 commercially available from M/A-COM, together with drivingelectronics.

If filter 102 is not utilized, the low-level impulse is used to directlygate oscillator 106 by switching mixer 108 to alternately pass or notpass the oscillator output to the input of bandpass filter 110. Theparticular microwave mixer 108 used for the L-band, 1.5 GHzimplementation is commercially available from Mini-Circuits Lab, partno. RMS-25MH. For proper operation, adequate ON/OFF isolation betweenoutput UWB signal pulse and gating signal can be achieved through theuse of multiple mixers. Approximately 40 to 60 dB isolation is believedto provide adequate security.

The amplitude of the low-level impulse generator 100 can be adjusted tochange the pulse width, and hence the instantaneous bandwidth, of theUWB signal at the output of mixer 108. By increasing the amplitude, alarger time exists in which the oscillator signal appears at the outputof mixer 108 (wider pulse width) because of the increased time duringwhich the mixer diodes are forward biased. Conversely, the lower theamplitude of the low-level impulse generator output, the shorter thetime in which the oscillator signal appears at the output of mixer 108(shorter pulse width). The bandwidth of the resultant UWB signal can bevaried on a pulse-by-pulse basis by digitally controlling the amplitudeof the low-level impulse generator output into the mixer.

Thus, mixer 108, in effect, acts as a high speed switch which amplitudemodulates the signal output from oscillator 106 with impulse excitationfrom low-level impulse generator 100. The resultant pulse envelopepreserves the original time domain shape of the impulse excitation. Onlya few milliwatts of peak power are needed to drive the mixer diodes ofthe mixer 108 into saturation, and thus low voltage impulse sources canbe utilized with the advantage that extremely high speed (hundreds ofmegabits per second) UWB signaling can be achieved.

If filter 102 is utilized, the mixer acts to heterodyne thebandpass-filtered or pulse shaped low-level impulse signal to thedesired operating center frequency. The bandwidth of the UWB signal atthe output of mixer 108 is then determined by the bandwidth of thebandpass or pulse shaping filter 102. Using this approach, low-levelimpulse generator 100 can be operated at a lower frequency, with thebroadband energy shifted in frequency to the desired range.

The center frequency, as well as the instantaneous phase, of the UWBsignal can be controlled via oscillator control 104. This allows forfrequency agile UWB emissions by simply changing the frequency of theoscillator 106 according to a desired hopping pattern. In addition, theinstantaneous phase of the UWB pulse can be changed on a pulse-by-pulsebasis to allow for various forms of phase modulation.

A pulse-to-pulse coherent waveform can be generated by phase-locking thelow-level impulse generator 100 to the oscillator 106. A digitallycontrolled RF attenuator 112 can be used to allow for additionalamplitude modulation. The combination of phase, frequency and amplitudemodulations enable the generation of a wide class of UWB waveformsincluding UWB quadrature amplitude modulation (UWB-QAM), UWB M-ary phasemodulation (UWB-PSK), etc. Bandpass filter 110 is used to rejectundesirable, or out-of-band, frequencies and/or mixer products prior togated power amplification and eventual transmission.

The transmitted UWB waveform is not “carrier free” as in conventionalUWB systems but instead includes a well-defined and controllable centeror carrier frequency established by the frequency of the oscillator 106.

FIG. 2 shows an UWB transmitter in which a low-level impulse generator100 is used to impulse-excite a bandpass or pulse shaping filter 102.FIG. 2 is a special case of FIG. 1 in which the frequency of oscillator106 is set to precisely zero. That is, the oscillator of FIG. 1 isreplaced by a DC source which serves to always turn ON mixer 108regardless of the amplitude of the low-level impulse generator. UnlikeFIG. 1, the circuitry of FIG. 2 does not easily permit frequency hoppingor phase modulation. However, its advantages are that, for centerfrequencies up to about 5 GHz, the circuit is simple and inexpensive toimplement; and, like FIG. 1, allows for high speed operation (because ofthe use of a high speed low-level impulse source) with controllablespectral filtering and shaping.

An UWB transmitter using a low-level impulse generator and microwavebandpass filter was constructed which generated an L-band UWB signal ata center frequency of 1.5 GHz, with a 3 dB down bandwidth of 400 MHz.FIG. 12A shows the actual transmitted UWB signal generated by thismethod. FIG. 12B shows the frequency spectrum of the.UWB signal shown inFIG. 12A. The particular filters used were L-band bandpass filters, witha center frequency of 1.5 GHz, a 1 dB bandwidth of 400 MHz, a 3 dBbandwidth of 500 MHz, rejection at 1 GHz of greater than 30 dB down, andrejection at 1.9 GHz of greater than 30 dB down.

Theoretically, to understand how the circuit shown in FIG. 2 provides anUWB signal which includes an apparent carrier, we refer to Carlson, A.Bruce “Communication Systems, An Introduction to Signals and Noise inElectrical Communication”, McGraw-Hill, New York, chap. 5.1 (1975), thecontents of which are explicitly incorporated herein by reference.According to Carlson, the impulse response h_(BP)(t) of a bandpassfilter can be written in quadrature carrier form as follows:

h _(BP)(t)=2Re[h _(LP)(t)e ^(jω) ^(_(c)) ^(t)]

where Re denotes the real part, h_(LP)(t) is the impulse response of thelow pass equivalent of h_(BP)(t), and ω_(c) is the center frequency ofthe bandpass filter. Thus, impulse excitation of bandpass filter 102 isequivalent to heterodyning a low pass spectrum of shape H_(LP)(f) to acenter frequency of ω_(c). The resultant signal can be extremelybroadband, depending only upon the selected characteristic shape andbandwidth of bandpass filter 102. Moreover, the signal is notcarrier-free in the conventional sense as the apparent carrier frequencyis determined by bandpass filter 102. Also, unlike direct high-powerimpulse excitation of an antenna as in conventional UWB transmitters,low-level impulse excitation of bandpass filter 102 provides completecontrol over all aspects of the spectral emissions of the UWBtransmitter. This is because the spectral emissions are determinedexactly by the characteristics of bandpass filter 102, for instance bythe center frequency, bandwidth, out of band rejection and skirtresponses.

To achieve the desired output power level, a gated power amplifiercircuit (FIG. 8) is used. The gating of gated power amplifier 160 isequally applicable to all embodiments of the present invention. In FIG.8, the output of an impulse-gated or time-gated UWB source 130 is fed toa MMIC amplifier chain of amplifier 160. Any suitable RF amplifiers maybe implemented instead of the MMIC amplifiers. The particular MMICamplifiers used are commercially available from STANFORD MICRODEVICES,part no. SNA-586, operable from DC to 8 GHz. Other amplifiers may beselected for frequencies ranging from HF to millimeter wave.

A power gate controller 134 with transmit pulse logic is formed by asuitably programmed high-speed field programmable gate array (FPGA) orprogrammable logic device (PLD). The power gate controller 134 generatesappropriate timing signals for triggering the low level impulsegenerator through transmit pulse trigger 132, and for applying voltagesas necessary (either bias, primary or both) to the gated power amplifier160. The impulse-gated or time-gated UWB generator 130 provides alow-level UWB signal to gated power amplifier 160 via an MMIC amplifierchain.

Switches 152, 156, e.g. high speed power bipolar or FET switches,control the application of the bias voltage from the bias voltage source150 and the primary voltage from the primary voltage source 154,respectively, to gated power amplifier 160. The particular gatingswitches 152, 156 used were power FETs, part no. IRF7304, commerciallyavailable from TEXAS INSTRUMENTS. RF chokes 162, 163 may need to beinserted between gating switches 152, 156 and gated power amplifier 160,depending upon the particular RF power devices used, to prevent RFfeedback to the DC supplies.

In the gated power amplifier 160, the total capacitance in the DC powerbypassing circuitry was minimized, as the RC time constant of theprimary voltage source 154, determined by the source impedance andcoupling capacitance, dictates the rate at which the UWB transmitter canreach its full operating power output. Only extremely fast turn-on, lowimpedance switches (e.g., GaAs MMIC switches) were used, and timingaccuracies as shown in FIG. 9 were maintained to nanosecond resolutionfor optimal efficiency.

FIG. 9 shows the timing diagram for gated power amplifier 160. Inwaveform (a), a power strobe signal 134 a (FIG. 8) is output from powergate controller 134 in advance of the transmit pulse trigger so that theDC operating parameters of the gated power amplifier 160 stabilize priorto application of the UWB pulse. Since the UWB signal pulse is ofextremely short duration (i.e., of only a few nanoseconds orsub-nanoseconds), it is only necessary to bias gated power amplifier 160ON during the time that the UWB signal pulse presents itself to theinput terminals of gated power amplifier 160, plus the additional timenecessary for the UWB signal pulse to propagate through gated poweramplifier 160. Additionally, because of stray capacitance and RC timeconstants related to bias supply resistance and coupling capacitors, ittakes an additional finite amount of time, once bias is switched ON, forgated power amplifier 160 to reach its active region. The trigger signal132 a (FIG. 8) output from the transmit pulse trigger 132 is thereforedelayed by at least the bias setup time shown in waveform (a) of FIG. 9,allowing the UWB low-level excitation from low-level UWB source 130 tobe output only after gated power amplifier 160 reaches the point atwhich it can produce a full power output, i.e., at point 200.

The power strobe signal shown in waveform (a) of FIG. 9 is removed atpoint 202, thereby removing the DC power bias conditions applied togated power amplifier 160 by bias voltage source 150 and primary voltagesource 154 only after the UWB signal pulse has propagated through gatedpower amplifier 160 (typically the width of the UWB signal pulse plus alatency time due to propagation effects within the gated power amplifier160). The bias in gated power amplifier 160 thereafter decays to a statewhich removes gated power amplifier 160 from its active, high-powerdrain region.

Since UWB signals, as generated above, are of extremely short duration(e.g., typically a few hundred picoseconds to a few nanoseconds), it isnecessary that the full power bandwidth of gated power amplifier 160 bewide enough to pass the pulses of the UWB signal without excessivedistortion. Thus, the full power bandwidth of the gated power amplifier160 should be approximately equal to the reciprocal of the pulse widthof the UWB signal. For instance, for a one nanosecond UWB signal pulse,the full power bandwidth of the gated power amplifier 160 should be atleast 1 GHz.

In addition, for optimum power efficiency, the width of the power strobesignal should only be wide enough to enable gated power amplifier 160 toreach steady state and pass the UWB signal pulse without shutting downprematurely. A power strobe width larger than this will increase theamount of power dissipated by the gated power amplifier 160 and thusincrease the power consumed by the UWB transmitter.

A high-efficiency power amplifier enhances the ability to implement theUWB transmitter according to the present invention in a portable device.Although the power amplifier 160 need not be gated, the gating of powerto the gated power amplifier 160 provides significant power reductionwhich is particularly useful for battery operated UWB applications inwhich primary power consumption is a major concern, e.g., hand-held UWBtransceivers, battery operated UWB radar sensors, etc.

Class II: Time-gated Oscillator (TGO) UWB Transmitters

The basis for this class of UWB transmitters is the time-gating of amicrowave oscillator with a control signal of short duration to obtainan UWB signal with selected spectral characteristics. This time gatingcan be accomplished either by utilizing fast-acting switches, or byswitching the microwave signal ON/OFF with a low-level analog or digitalsignal which approximates an impulse.

FIG. 3 shows an UWB transmitter utilizing a time-gated oscillatorsource. Time gating circuit 120 controllably gates the output ofmicrowave oscillator 106 to provide an UWB signal. The signal issubsequently filtered by bandpass filter 110 to remove out-of-bandenergy. The power level of the transmitted UWB signal is controlled byan optional digitally controlled attenuator 112, and the resultantsignal is subsequently power-amplified for transmission by a gated poweramplifier. If digitally controlled attenuator 112 is not used, the UWBsignal is fed directly to the gated power amplifier.

Oscillator 106 can be either a fixed frequency or a voltage controlledoscillator (VCO), the latter allowing the center frequency of the UWBsource to be changed as desired or on a pulse-by-pulse basis. Theparticular oscillator used in the L-band embodiment is a 1.5 GHz VCOcommercially available from Z-COMM, part no. V602MC01. The microwaveoscillator 106 does not need to be very stable particularly when, as inthis application, non-coherent communication techniques are utilized.The frequency and/or phase of microwave oscillator 106 can be controlledby signals on frequency/phase control line 104. In this way, the phasecomponent of a modulation scheme can be injected into the UWB signalbefore transmission. Frequency hopping, which is not possible in priorart UWB transmitters, can be implemented by actively controlling thefrequency of oscillator 106.

Accurate control of output power is implemented by digitally controlledattenuator 112 having a 50 ohm impedance providing efficient andpredictable power transfer. The particular digitally controlledattenuator 112 used in this embodiment is commercially available fromM/A-COM, part no. AT-230.

Time gating circuit 120 gates a continuous wave (CW) phase and/orfrequency-controlled signal from oscillator 106 in a tightly controlledmanner. Oscillator 106 and time gating circuit 120 form a UWB signalsource. Unlike conventional systems, the UWB transmitter according tothe present invention does not directly excite an antenna with ahigh-power impulse signal. Rather, a time-gated UWB source provides welldefined output spectral characteristics which can be adjusted as desiredto avoid off-limit frequencies.

As described above, a gated power amplifier amplifies the time-gated UWBsignal for presentation and radiation from a wideband antenna. To reducethe overall power needs of the UWB transmitter, the power applied to thegated power amplifier may be gated in synchronization with the gating ofoscillator 106 performed by time gating circuit 120. Power is applied tothe gated power amplifier only during the gated time of the time-gatedoscillator UWB source, plus any required ramp-up and latency period.Thus, the gated power amplifier is powered ON a predetermined amount oftime prior to the arrival of the UWB pulse (e.g., a few nanosecondsprior to the pulse arrival), and is powered OFF after the UWB signalpulse has passed through. In this fashion, minimal DC power is requiredto generate the high-power UWB signal. The particular power amplifierused in this embodiment is commercially available from STANFORDMICRODEVICES, part no. SMM-280-4.

The transmitted UWB waveform is not “carrier free” as in conventionalsystems but instead includes a well-defined and controllable center orcarrier frequency established by the frequency of oscillator 106.Moreover, the pulse width of the time gating in time gating circuit 120controls the instantaneous bandwidth of the radiated UWB signal.Adjustment of the pulse width of time gating circuit 120 correspondinglyadjusts the instantaneous bandwidth of the transmitted UWB signal.

One embodiment of time gating circuit 120 is shown in FIG. 4, comprisinghigh speed switches S1, S2, and a delay line. High speed switches S1, S2are GaAs FET switches, though any suitably fast switch can beimplemented. The particular GaAs FET switches used in the X-band, 10.0GHz embodiment are commercially available from Daico, part numberDSW25151. The UWB signal could alternatively be gated by a single switchso long as it is suitably fast. For instance, ECL logic might providesuitably fast control of a single GaAs switch. In such a case, the delayline 180 would be unnecessary and the UWB signal waveform would begoverned by the rise and fall times of the single switch.

Tapped delay line 180 can be any suitably fast delay circuit. Forinstance, a delay circuit can be formed from a series of inverter gates.A delay line having sub-nanosecond delay taps was implemented for timegating circuit 120 shown in FIG. 3 by a meandering microstrip line. Inthis case, the circuit board dielectric constant determines the velocityof propagation of a signal through a length of conductor havingpredetermined dimensions. Delay line 180 might alternatively be formedby a digitally controllable delay device such as that availablecommercially from ANALOG DEVICES, part no. AD9501, and others having aslittle as 10 picosecond (ps) resolution.

In operation, a trigger pulse is sent via buffer 186 to tapped delayline 180 as shown in FIG. 4. Delay line 180 is tapped at a first tap 180a to control switch S1, and at a second tap 180 b to control switch S2.When the delayed trigger pulse reaches first tap 180 a, it drives buffer182 which in turn controls switch S1 to close from an open state.Closure of switch S1 allows the output of the oscillator 106 to passthrough time gating circuit 120 because switch S2 is already closed atthe point in time at which switch S1 closes. After a fixed amount ofdelay Δ, while switch S1 is still closed, the trigger pulse reachessecond tap 180 b and drives buffer 184 which in turn controls switch S2to open from a closed state. The trigger pulse is a level transitionsuch that when it reaches the second gate 184, the first gate 182continues to respond to the trigger pulse until after the UWB signalpulse passes. This opening of switch S2 disconnects the output of theoscillator 106 from the output of time gating circuit 120 and thus theoutput signal drops to zero at that point in time.

FIG. 5 shows the response waveform timing of switches S1, S2. Waveform(a) depicts switch S1 being closed and thus allowing the output ofoscillator 106 to pass through the time gating circuitry 120. Waveform(b) depicts switch S2 being opened and thus cutting off the output ofoscillator 106. Waveform (c) shows the composite result of the responseof switches S1 and S2.

Because of the finite rise times of switches S1, S2, (typically a fewhundred picoseconds for GaAs switches), the time-gated oscillator UWBoutput pulse has an amplitude response which is essentially triangularin nature as shown in waveform (d) of FIG. 5. By adjusting the fixedamount of delay Δ between the operation of switch S1 and the operationof switch S2, and by selecting GaAs FET switches which have fast risetimes and closely matched propagation delay times, a sub-nanosecondmicrowave burst can be generated having a bandwidth as great as severalGHz. The shorter the burst, the greater the bandwidth.

If a programmable delay device is used to form delay line 180, thebandwidth of the UWB signal can be adjusted on a real-time basis byadjusting the delay Δ. In addition, by using an oscillator 106 which canbe hopped in frequency, the instantaneous bandwidth and center frequencyof the radiated UWB signal can be changed on a pulse-to-pulse basis.

The burst frequency waveform output from the UWB source is non-coherenton a pulse-to-pulse basis. This is acceptable for use with an UWBreceiver which can respond to the instantaneous signal energy.Alternatively, the transmitted pulses can be made pulse-to-pulsecoherent by deriving the times for operation of switches S1 and S2 fromthe oscillator-frequency through a digital pre-scaler and divider. Thus,phase shift keying (PSK), or the phase component of quadrature amplitudemodulation (QAM) can be implemented. Amplitude shift keying (ASK) can beimplemented by the presence or absence of a pulse, or pulse positionmodulation (PPM) can be implemented. Any modulation scheme utilizingphase and/or amplitude can be implemented.

FIG. 7A shows an actual transmitted UWB signal generated by an X-bandtime-gated oscillator according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 4. Thisparticular UWB signal was generated with an X-band microwave oscillator106 comprising a 2.5 GHz VCO step recovery diode source multiplied up byfour to form a 10 GHz source. A time-gating pulse of 500 picosecond (ps)duration was used. As shown in FIG. 7A, the pulse from time gatingcircuit 102 was approximately triangularly-shaped. The resultant X-bandUWB signal had a 3 dB down bandwidth of over 2 GHz.

FIG. 7B shows the frequency spectrum of the UWB signal shown in FIG. 7A.Note that the shape of the frequency spectrum is affected by the shapeof the response pulse in the time gating circuit 120.

FIG. 6 shows an embodiment of a time-gated oscillator UWB transmittermade practical by the availability of high-speed programmable logic andD/A converters. In this embodiment, a digital envelope generator circuit300 is used to form the time gating circuit 120.

A clock crystal 302 drives a clock driver 304 to output sequentialaddresses to high-speed read only memory (ROM) 306. The ROM 306 couldideally be a bank of ROMs triggered sequentially to accelerate the speedof the relatively slow memory. The speed of the data output from thebank of ROMs 306 corresponds to the speed of clock crystal 302. The dataclocked out of ROM 306 is converted to an analog signal by a high-speedD/A converter 308, and thereafter input to mixer 108 as a gating pulse.

ROM 306 is programmed with the desired UWB waveform shape, and thusforms a lookup table having data which is converted from digital form toanalog form by the D/A converter 308. In the real world, mixer 108 isnot perfectly linear, and thus shaping the analog excitation pulse fromthe D/A converter 308 will shape the output UWB signal. The preferredwaveform shape stored in ROM 306 is determined empirically based on adesired UWB output spectral waveform.

Digital envelope generator circuit 300 provides an analog modulationfunction for mixer 108, and thus AM-modulates the “carrier” signal fromthe oscillator 106.

While the invention has been described with reference to the exemplarypreferred embodiments thereof, those skilled in the art will be able tomake the various modifications to the described embodiments of theinvention without departing from the true spirit and scope of theinvention. For instance, the invention is applicable for use byoscillators of any frequency as appropriate to the application.Moreover, it is within the scope of the present invention to implementthe analog components digitally as appropriate to the application. Forinstance, a suitably fast digital signal processor can replace theoscillator, low-level impulse generator, filter, delay line, switchand/or control logic. For the sake of convenient reference, the circuitsand methods for altering, conditioning, adapting, filtering, pulseshaping, and/or controlling a low-level UWB signal or impulse source,including the setting, regulating or controlling of bandwidth,frequency, phase, multi-level attenuation/amplitude, etc., are hereinreferred to as waveform adapting or adaptation, or performed by awaveform adapter.

We claim:
 1. A method of producing band-limited ultra-wideband datatransmissions comprising a series of UWB data signals representingdigital data, said method comprising: generating a series of low-levelimpulse-switched ultra-wideband pulses of a given amplitude; filteringsaid low-level ultra wideband pulses to produce an UWB signal confinedto a band-limited spectral range; modulating the amplitude of said UWBsignal according to digital data thereby to produce anamplitude-modulated UWB data signal; and supplying saidamplitude-modulated UWB data signal to an antenna.
 2. The method asrecited in claim 1 further including the step of amplifying saidamplitude-modulated UWB data signal before said supplying step.
 3. Amethod of producing ultra-wideband data transmissions comprising aseries of UWB signals representing digital data, said method comprising:generating a series of low-level impulse-switched ultra-wideband pulses;waveform adapting said low-level impulse-switched ultra wideband pulsesto produce an UWB signal confined to a spectral range; modulating saidlow-level impulse-switched UWB signal confined to said spectral rangeaccording to digital data thereby to produce a data-bearing UWB signal;and supplying said data-bearing UWB signal to an antenna.
 4. The methodas recited in claim 3 further including the step of amplifying saiddata-bearing UWB signal before said supplying step.
 5. A method ofproducing band-limited ultra-wideband data transmissions comprising aseries of UWB data signals representing digital data, said methodcomprising: phase-modulating an oscillating signal source to produce aphase-modulated signal, generating a series of low-levelimpulse-switched ultra-wideband pulses from said phase-modulated signal;filtering said impulse-switched ultra wideband pulses to produce an UWBsignal having a frequency confined within a band-limited spectral range;and supplying said UWB signal to an antenna whereby to produce saidband-limited ultra-wideband data transmissions.
 6. The method as recitedin claim 5 further including the step of amplifying said UWB signalbefore said supplying step.
 7. A method of producing QAM-modulated UWBdata signals representing digital data, said method comprising:providing a microwave oscillator to generated a low-level signal;time-gating said low-level signal within a several nanosecond tosub-nanosecond interval to generate a time-gated UWB signal output;modulating said oscillator in phase and modulating said time-gated UWBsignal output in amplitude according to digital data thereby to generatea data-modulated output; and supplying said data-modulated output to anantenna thereby to radiate QAM-modulated UWB data signals representingdigital data.
 8. The method as recited in claim 7, further comprisingamplifying said data-modulated output before the supplying step.
 9. Amethod of producing PSK-modulated UWB data signals representative ofdigital data, said method comprising: providing a microwave oscillatorto generated a low-level signal; PSK-modulating said low-level signalaccording to digital data thereby to generate a phase-modulated output;time-gating said phase-modulated output within a several nanosecond tosub-nanosecond interval to generate an UWB signal output; and supplyingsaid modulated output to an antenna whereby to radiate PSK-modulated UWBdata signals representative of digital data.
 10. The method as recitedin claim 9, further comprising the step of amplifying said UWB signaloutput before said supplying step.
 11. A method of producing M-arymodulated UWB data signals representative of digital data, said methodcomprising: providing a microwave oscillator to generate a low-levelsignal having a defined center-frequency; time-gating said low-levelsignal to produce a gated output of several nanoseconds to asub-nanosecond duration, said gated output having a center-frequencycorresponding to a frequency of said oscillator; modulating saidoscillator in at least one of phase and frequency and modulating saidgated output in multi-level amplitudes according to digital data therebyto generate a modulated output; and supplying said modulated output toan antenna.
 12. The method as recited in claim 11, further comprisingthe step of amplifying said modulated output prior to said supplyingstep.
 13. A method of producing M-ary modulated UWB data signalsrepresentative of digital data, said method comprising: providing avoltage-controlled oscillator that generates a low-level millimeter wavesignal having a frequency; time-gating said millimeter wave signal toproduce a gated output of several nanoseconds to a sub-nanosecondduration; controlling the frequency of said voltage-controlledoscillator according to digital data thereby to produce a time-gated,frequency-modulated UWB data signal; and supplying said time-gated,frequency-modulated UWB data signal to an antenna.
 14. The method asrecited in claim 13, further comprising the step of amplifying saidtime-gated, frequency-modulated UWB data signal prior to said supplyingstep.
 15. A band-limited, ultra-wideband data transmission system thattransmits a series of UWB signals representing digital data, said systemcomprising: a switched impulse generator to generate a series oflow-level ultra wideband signals; a filter that band-limits saidlow-level ultra wideband signals to produce a series of millimeter wavesignals each having multiple cycles confined within a given spectralrange; a data modulator that modulates the amplitude of said millimeterwave signals according to digital data; and an antenna responsive tosaid data modulator to radiate UWB signals representative of digitaldata.
 16. The band-limited ultra wideband transmission system as recitedin claim 15, further including an amplifier to amplify said modulatedmillimeter wave signals.
 17. A phase-modulated ultra-wideband datatransmission system for transmitting a series of signals representingdigital data, said system comprising: a switched impulse generator togenerate a series of low-level ultra-wideband signals; a filter thatband-limits said low-level ultra wideband signals to produce a series ofmillimeter wave signals each having multiple cycles confined within agiven spectral range; a modulator that modulates the phase of saidseries of millimeter wave signals according to digital data; and anantenna responsive to said modulator to radiate signals representativeof digital data.
 18. The phase-modulated ultra wideband transmissionsystem as recited in claim 17, further including an amplifier responsiveto said modulator.
 19. An UWB data transmission system that transmits aseries of UWB signals representing digital data, said system comprising:a switched impulse generator to generate a series of low-level ultrawideband signals; a waveform adapter that waveform adapts said low-levelultra wideband signals to produce a series of millimeter wave signalseach having multiple cycles confined within a given spectral range, saidwaveform adapter controlling at least one of center-frequency,amplitude, and phase of said millimeter wave signals according todigital data; and an antenna responsive to said data modulator toradiate UWB signals representative of digital data.
 20. The UWB datatransmission system as recited in claim 19, further comprising anamplifier responsive to said waveform adapter.
 21. An UWB datatransmission system that transmits a series of UWB signals representingdigital data, said system comprising: a switched impulse generator togenerate a series of low-level ultra wideband signals; a waveformadapter that band-limits said low-level ultra wideband signals toproduce a series of millimeter wave signals each having multiple cyclesconfined within a given spectral range; a data modulator that modulatessaid millimeter wave signals according to digital data; and an antennaresponsive to said data modulator to radiate UWB signals representingdigital data.
 22. The UWB data transmission system as recited in claim21, further comprising an amplifier responsive to said data modulator.23. A QAM-modulated UWB data transmission system that transmits a seriesof signals representative of digital data, said system comprising: amicrowave oscillator to generated a low-level signal; a time gate thatproduces a several nanosecond to sub-nanosecond output of saidoscillator; a data modulator that modulates the oscillator in at leastone of phase and center-frequency, and that modulates the output of saidtime gate in amplitude; an amplifier responsive to said data modulatorto produce an amplified output; and an antenna responsive to saidamplified output to radiate signals representative of digital data. 24.A PSK-modulated UWB data transmission system that transmits a series ofsignals representative of digital data, said system comprising: amicrowave oscillator to generated a low-level signal; a phase-modulatingsource applied to said microwave oscillator to PSK-modulate saidlow-level signal according to digital data thereby to produce aPSK-modulated low level signal; a time gate that gates a severalnanosecond to sub-nanosecond output from said PSK-modulated low-levelsignal; an amplifier responsive to said PSK-modulated low-level signalto produce an amplified output; and an antenna responsive to saidamplified output to radiate PSK-modulated UWB signals representative ofdigital data.
 25. An M-ary modulated UWB signal transmitter thattransmits a series of short data-bearing signals representative ofdigital data, said transmitter comprising: a microwave oscillator togenerate a low-level signal; a time gate that gates a several nanosecondto sub-nanosecond output of said oscillator to produce a signal havingat least one of a phase, amplitude, bandwidth, and center-frequency; adata modulator that modulates said oscillator in at least one of phaseand center-frequency and that modulates the output of said time gate inamplitude according to digital data; an amplifier responsive to saiddata-modulator to produce an amplified output; and an antenna responsiveto said amplified output to radiate M-ary modulated UWB signals.